Norway-headed hydrogen technology company Nel ASA and Europe’s largest supplier of renewable power, compatriot Statkraft ASA, have signed a contract for the delivery of 40 MW electrolyzers and will thus collaborate to create a strong value chain for the production of green hydrogen in Norway.
The announcement was made in connection with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck’s visit to Nel’s fully automated electrolyzer manufacturing facility at Herøya in Norway on January 6, 2023, together with the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry, Jan Christian Vestre, and Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Terje Lien Aasland.
The ministers are enthusiastic about the two companies’ plans for a green hydrogen value chain in Norway.
It is encouraging that leading Norwegian players such as Nel and Statkraft are planning value chains for green hydrogen in Norway. This is an important step in the right direction to achieve our ambitions to build a coherent value chain for hydrogen and facilitate the production of hydrogen with no or low emissions to cover the national demand for hydrogen, said Minister Terje Aasland.
Statkraft placed the purchase order for 40 MW of alkaline electrolyzer equipment Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a subsidiary of Nel in November 2022.
The electrolyzer stacks will be produced at Nel’s manufacturing plant at Herøya and used for the production of renewable hydrogen in one of Statkraft’s many hydrogen projects.
Worth NOK 120 million the contract also includes a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study related to the deliveries and includes pass-through mechanisms for steel and nickel price adjustments. The production of electrodes is estimated to be completed by end-2023.
As Europe’s largest supplier of renewable energy, Statkraft has the ambition to accelerate its annual development rate to 4 GW of new power production per year and to add 2 GW of renewable hydrogen production by 2030.
We are determined that we will contribute towards making Norway a leading producer of renewable hydrogen, and establish an eco-system of electrolyzer and equipment suppliers, said Håkon Volldal, CEO of Nel, and Christian Rynning-Tønnesen CEO of Statkraft.
In Norway, Statkraft will strengthen its efforts in developing new renewable power production as well as flexibility within hydropower and wind power both on- and offshore.
The contract with Nel is the first important step in materializing our ambitious target of 2 GW of green hydrogen and securing production capacity for our diverse pipeline of hydrogen projects, said Christian Rynning-Tønnesen.
Volldal is very excited to have Statkraft on the customer list.
Statkraft is Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy and a well-reputed and highly knowledgeable renewable energy company with an ambitious growth agenda. We are extremely proud that they have elected us as a supplier of green hydrogen technology. With this and other orders Nel is strengthening its position as a leading supplier and exporter of hydrogen equipment, which is crucial for the green transition in Europe and beyond, and for the development of new green jobs in Norway, ended Håkon Volldal.
